Lyme-like microbes pose health threat

MidHusonCentral.com
Health Department officials are tracking 30 suspected cases of ehrlichiosis, an illness that can be transmitted by the Lyme disease-carrying deer tick or the lone star tick. It is not transmitted person to person.
County Health Department Public Information Officer Pat Abitabile says the illness has been around in New York. The first cases occurred, like Lyme and West Nile virus, in New York City and on Long Island in 1995.
It has crept up the Hudson Valley with 10 cases here last year and a threefold increase here so far this year.
Ironically, as the incidence of ehrlichiosis increases here, Lyme cases continue to drop. In 2002 the county had the highest incidence of Lyme per capita in America, at just over 1,000. In 2004 that number had dropped to 408 and so far this year there have been 260 confirmed cases.
Symptoms of ehrlichiosis are similar to those of Lyme disease. They include fever, muscle aches, weakness and headache. Infected individuals can also experience confusion, nausea, vomiting and joint pain. The infection can range from mild to moderate for most but can be life threatening.
Symptoms appear anywhere from one to three weeks after infection and, as with the bite of Lyme-infected ticks, every exposure does not result in infection. Unlike Lyme disease there is never a rash that comes with ehrlichiosis.
Treatment of the illness is similar to that for Lyme disease with a course of antibiotics, with Tetracycline the medication of choice.
The distribution of the 30 cases now being tracked shows Valatie having the highest incidence with seven, Hudson a close second at five and Ghent third with four. Other towns reporting cases are Hillsdale, Old Chatham, Germantown, Craryville and Copake at two each with Stottville and East Chatham at one apiece.
Asked about the Lone Star tick, a name that implies an insect that has traveled a long way to infect New Yorkers, Ms Abitabile notes that the tick is much more prevalent on Long Island than it is here, with the vast majority of ehrlichiosis cases delivered by the deer tick.
As with Lyme disease, County Health Department Director Nancy Winch says the department is emphasizing prevention.
Individuals who will walk, play or work in wooded and grassy areas are encouraged to wear long pants tucked into their socks and shirts tucked into pants to prevent ticks from gaining access to skin.
Light colored clothing also allows for easy tick discovery. While outside check every two or three hours for ticks and once inside a thorough search of body surfaces should be done. A tick removed within 36 hours of its attachment to the skin minimizes the risk of infection.
If a tick is discovered embedded in skin, tweezers should be used to remove it. Grasping the tick as close as possible to the skin will improve chances that one gets all the tick parts. Mouth parts left in the skin can cause infection. Care should be exercised not to crush the tick as it is removed. This could release infectious fluid.
Residents are warned not to use petroleum jelly or lit cigarettes or other home remedies. After removal of the tick, disinfect the bite site and wash hands.
Persons who want to know what species of tick they have been infected with can send it to the state Department of Health Tick Identification Service. Beyond species identification, one can also learn if all the body parts of the tick are intact, whether it is engorged with blood from feeding, and how long it may have been embedded in the skin. The service will not tell you if the tick is infected with any disease carrying organism, though.
Send the tick immersed in rubbing alcohol in a sealed container to the Tick Identification Service c/o HVCC Central Receiving, 80 Vandenburgh Avenue, Troy 12180.